Hundreds of Gonzaga Prep students participate in peaceful walkout

Mar 15, 2018

(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)

SPOKANE, Wash. -On Wednesday morning students at Gonzaga Prep took action into their own hands on National School Walkout Day to say enough is enough "We really wanted to go beyond the walkout because we saw a lot of the criticism like what is walking out on the football field really going to accomplish," said Gonzaga Prep senior Jaime Dorsh.

Students first gathered in the gym to listen to a presentation about gun violence. But at the same time being proactive and having students register to vote, write letters to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and to the congresswoman's challenger Lisa Brown. Students also made signs for the March of Our Lives later this month in downtown Spokane. Students held signs with the hashtag enough to show solidarity "We are doing this as a way to initiate respectful dialog and to kind of show the adults that not everything has to be partisan. It's inherently political, but that doesn't mean we can't get Democrats or Republicans together in a room to talk about it," said Sidney Semenza also a senior at Gonzaga Prep.

As the clock got closer to 10 am students started to walk onto the field to stand in silence despite the rain. Students also participated in the rendition of John Lennon's song imagine as members of faculty and staff looked on. These walkouts come a month after 14 students, and three faculty members were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. For Sidney and Jaime like thousands of other students across the nation, they want the violence to stop "When people can come together and just realize that no one wants kids to die. Everyone supports life and thinks that life is sacred so I think we are here to show people that change can be done if you are just willing to step across the lines," added Semenza.